ROYALS RFC are back in action tomorrow, looking to jump up the Harvey’s Brewery Counties 3 Sussex league with a tough away fixture against East Grinstead II.
Captain Ollie De La Cloche and his troops have had a promising season to date and are fourth in the league with five wins from their eight games.
Opponents East Grinstead II sit one place below the Royals, however they have played two more games.
The Royals ended 2024 with an extremely difficult away fixture against league leaders Burgess Hill, where they were soundly beaten 34-7.
De La Cloche and his side will be looking to start the new year on the right foot on Saturday against a team they have already beaten this season.
The two sides battled it out at Grainville back in October, where the Royals triumphed 31-18 in a one-sided contest.
Skipper De La Cloche said ahead of tomorrow’s clash: “We’re really looking forward to this one.
“It was a great game when we played them over here, I thought we were excellent that day and we were actually better than the scoreline showed.
“We’re taking over a pretty similar side so I’m very hopeful of another win.
“We want to start the new year with a positive result after a couple of defeats at the back end of last year.
“We’re pushing hard to finish in the top three, so every game is crucial now.
“It’s been brilliant to have back Mungo [Rioda] around the group, he brings a real X factor to our team and his showmanship always brings the best out of the rest of us.
“We trained this week and made sure it was quite a heavy contact session. After a couple of weeks off over the festive break, the boys will be well prepared for this weekend after taking and giving a few big hits.
“If we play to our capabilities, I’m sure we can take another big win home with us.”
Royals RFC are set to travel to face East Grinstead II at The Gearon Pavilion tomorrow.
Royals RFC squad: Sam Dillon, Jack Lowe, Joao Tomas, Curtis Stanier, Connor Bisson-Mercury, JJ Le Feuvre, Josh Twohig Jones, Cam Halliwell, Connor Devenney, Mungo Rioda, Zak Le Marquand, Hugo Reid, George Burke, Pearse Moloney, Ben Pearson
Replacements: Cameron Spencer, Charlie Dixon Smith, Richard Nunn, Fraser George
